War's Twilight
by Ehanu Rehu
Summary: The story of Pyrrhia is one darkened by years of war and bloodshed. Dragons forced to choose a side in a triumvirate of violence, many cannot help but ask "When will this end?" 20 years since the war's genesis, the answer has come. The dragonets are coming, but Fate has left room for one more...
1. A New Adventure

**And here we have another idea I've been bouncing around for some time. I'm not sure of how this story's success will occur, but here's hopin' anyways!**

His first returning memory was his name.

_Link. Hero of Twilight. The Blue-eyed Beast._

His eyes shot open, the memories of before returning and Link shot to his feet, searching his surroundings.

He saw trees. But he could sense no vitality. Life, yes, but no health. Slowly, these trees were dying, a poison clawing at them gradually and methodically. There was a lot of time remaining for these trees, but they were already dead with the stigma in them.

Link gazed skyward and saw why.

A boiling mountaintop churned and bubbled with molten rock in the distance, a river of magma flowing from its peak and carving its way through a valley towards the forest before disappearing under the stone to the land's core. Link coughed as he felt the ash scratch at his throat, seeking to begin ending his life as it was to the foliage. The very air felt dead, burnt by the volcano, hotter than even Death Mountain had been.

There was magic here, but it wasn't like Hyrule's. Wild, untamed, barely known and without a master, the raw energy almost left Link breathless with the untapped potential. If it were an animal, it would have been much like Epona had been before Link had tamed her.

But the question lingered: how did he end up here? Also, _why_?

Link reached out with his magical senses towards the power around him, causing his Triforce to set aglow. At once, it tried to lash at this new creature that dared annoy its presence. Link hardly needed to focus to reign it in. Immediately, the energy tried to throw off the controlling chains, but Link tightened his hold on the power, willing it to obey him. Moments passed with Link holding out his left hand, eyes closed in a quiet concentration that belied the struggle, minor as it was. Then at last, the power keeled and stopped its struggling against its new master.

He opened his eyes and lowered his hand, the task complete.

He immediately began checking over his equipment, checking for his treasures and relics that were, in truth, his most useful tools. The Gale Boomerang, Hero's Bow, both Clawshots, his shrunken Spinner, the Rod of Dominion, all secured in their proper places. Opening the one pouch specifically enchanted for the purpose, he felt the weight of the Megaton Hammer within, before shutting it.

Unsheathing his blade, he checked over the Master Sword. It still glowed gently with the Light of Twili, having never lost the power truly, and his trusty Hylian Shield over the sheath. Along with the treasures before that Zelda had given him.

At the time, he wondered at the need for substituting his Ball and Chain with the Goron-crafted Megaton Hammer, and still did, but one did well to listen to the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, after all.

Remembering Zelda, he checked the clasps in which resided the Ocarina of Time. The gentle blue glow of the instrument shone through the belt-clasps as if to reassure him.

Then, he felt for the gift from the Twilight Princess underneath his tunic. Yes, the Twilight Crystal was still there on its chain around his neck. He still remembered the fiery power coursing through him the first time he stepped into the Twilight-shadowed Faron Woods. Then again when the crystal had first been used by Zant.

Closing his eyes, he remembered that day that had felt so long ago when he found the crystal fragment, but also had been mere months...

_The Mirror of Twilight's frame was shaking violently, threatening to tear from its moorings. Link looked to Zelda for an explanation, but her stern expression provided no answers. She knew as much as Link did._

_"When did this begin?" Zelda questioned the rather-heavy Hylian guard standing at attention._

_"At midnight, 3 nights ago. We thought it was convergence of energies from the Festival of Genesis," the guard said._

_Link nodded, understanding coming to him._

_The Festival of Genesis had started not even 5 years ago, at the defeat of Ganondorf and Zant, marking the beginning of an age without their shadow over the lands of Light and Twilight. The event that had started it had been the beginning of Hyrule Castle's rebuilding, after the devastation suffered to it during Link's battle with the Dark King. One of the captains of the guard had said during a speech to the builders and smiths that their efforts to restore Hyrule Castle weren't merely a restoration, but a Genesis of a new age, an era of peace._

_As large groups of callous men were wont to do, that night after working all day in the sun, they descended on the bars to celebrate the occasion and called it the "Festival of Genesis," more of a jest than an actual christening._

_But the name had stuck and the event became an actual festival the next year, finally becoming an annual tradition with the third year of the week-long celebrations. When the royal leader, Princess Zelda, officially gave the even her blessing, people started witnessing an increase in wonders and impossibilities. Magic-users, like the advance-level Zelda and novice-user Link, knew this increase as the Light Spirits joining in and giving their own setting apart to the event._

_But on this 5__th__ year, the frame of the Mirror of Twilight had mysteriously activated with twilit magic, appearing to the guards as a darkening of color. But Zelda and Link could see the Twilight particles emanating from the device..._

Link gasped as the memory ended, leaving him in the ash-filled landscape once again.

His breath hissed as he breathed sharply. Nowhere in that memory did he remember acquiring the Master Sword! Zelda had gifted him with the Ocarina and Hammer at separate Festivals before, but he didn't remember ever seeking out the sacred blade!

The sword's presence meant there was evil to be vanquished. There was no other purpose for the blade.

The Twilight Crystal, though...

He fingered the lump that signified the crystal's presence under his green tunic. Shortly after Midna had left him that day when they finally destroyed the Dark King Ganondorf, Link had roamed the Arbiter's Grounds, reminiscing. He had found the crystal fragment lying near to the spot Midna had stood right before destroying the Mirror.

The fragment had lost most of its power, but not its ability to change Link into the Sacred Wolf. The only limitation he had found was that he could change forms but once a day. Whether he was human or canid in form, a full day was required for the crystal's power to return.

Through his gloves, tunic, and chain-mail, he could feel the crystal thrumming with its warm energy, eager for his direct touch. In the dark of the volcanic landscape, the red light could just faintly be made out through the tunic.

He sheathed the Master Sword as he looked towards the peak of the volcano. The skies around it were heavy with ash and reflected the volatile light from the cone, appearing to have a sphere of dim flames surrounding it.

With a deep sigh, Link started to march.

He found the canyon when he almost fell into it.

While traipsing through a bush, he had felt his foot reach out for empty air and he started to fall. His arms wind-milled in a bid for his balance, and was successful as he fell back onto his rump. Groaning from the slight surprise, he parted the bush and saw he had almost fell down a sheer cliff that stretched downwards for hundreds and hundreds of feet before meeting the canyon floor that was comprised mostly of a massive lava river.

He took a moment to catch his breath and calm his racing heart before standing again. The canyon's length continued away into the distance towards the volcano and appeared to run right to its base. The crack he almost fell into widened dramatically until it was wide enough to consume all of Castle Town and part of Hyrule Castle's courtyard. There were also spots along the otherwise-flat cliff that were holes, or possibly caves, being an innumerable amount, there were so many.

Link gazed up at the volcano again to get his bearings. The crevice continued straight to the center of the base, it seemed.

He took the left fork and continued on.

For a while, the only sounds were that of the volcano's grumbling. In many ways, despite the obvious aesthetic differences, it reminded Link of Death Mountain. This volcano made its presence known on the local area, and said presence made one feel small and powerless.

He swallowed, trying to stave off the dryness in his throat. It had been a while since he last had a drink, and there wasn't any sources of relief willing to reveal themselves to him.

The thought returned to use the Twili crystal to transform into his wolf form, but he discarded the idea again. He didn't know if he would have need of his equipment, and as a wolf he wouldn't be able to use the various items.

A sound drifted through the air, reaching his ears as a whisper. He stopped immediately to listen, slight shock furrowing his brow. Given the condition of this land, he had assumed there were no inhabitants. What sane being would think of living here?

Link checked himself. He had run into a number of people and creatures on his travels that would probably consider this place comfortable living quarters.

He turned away from the path and the magmatic crag towards the voice. As he progressed towards the source of the voice, facts made themselves known, the foremost being that there were 2 voices.

The first one that Link had heard was a light tenor and rapid speech, the words nearly tumbling over each other as if the owner was in a rush to get every single one of his thoughts out in the span of a few seconds.

A second voice made itself known, deep and ponderous, obvious calculation being invested into his words.

"...only requesting to come along on one of your ventures through the tunnel," Tenor was saying, "a more in-depth study of the Rainwings should provide us with healthier specimen as well as the chance to see them in their natural environment."

"No, Mastermind," Deep growled, annoyance blatant in his tone, "I am not going to be responsible for when you entangle yourself in some bramble thicket 'in the name of science.' Your services aren't so indispensable that you need to go out in the wilds on your own."

"But think about it Morrowseer," the tenor voice, Mastermind, said, "most observations my assistants give me are colored by myth and superstition. A scientifically-minded dragon such as myself could much more easily reveal the secrets of the Rainwings, accelerating my studies and enabling us to move into the jungle much faster. I'm not asking to go with you this time, but only ask to think on it."

There were no whispers for a moment, but Link had caught onto one detail of the conversation. "Dragons" wasn't a word he had been expecting to be used as it was in that sentence. At first, he imagined the choice of vocabulary was meant as a metaphor or a title. It couldn't mean an actual dragon. The only dragons in the land, or Hyrule at least, were mere beasts incapable of thought or reasoning. They were either feral monsters or servants of the dark forces. Given a dragon's incapability for good, it wasn't surprising.

As he pushed aside the bushes and brambles, though, he was given a new source of shock.

Two dragons with dark-violet scales walked side by side. Spike-like crests marked their spines and the center of their skulls, with two ivory horns on their heads. Their wings glittered as a black night with a star-filled sky, mesmerizing and beautiful.

The dragons were anything but.

The larger dragon bore numerous scars and plenty of muscle, both a testament to the creature's likely prowess in battle. But contrary to what the brawn suggested, its eyes bore a cold, calculating look, like a Lizalfo thinking of the best way to down a better fighter.

The smaller dragon, though, seemed like the opposite. A relative lack of muscle, head held high in an air of self-importance, and constant blithering like his only weapon was talking people to death marked this dragon as more intellectual.

And to his growing discomfort, the dragons did, indeed, talk.

"Fine, I'll think about it," the larger dragon, Morrowseer apparently, said.

The smaller dragon, Mastermind, perked up.

"But that does not mean I have given my consent," Morrowseer was quick to throw out. "I'll give you my answer once I have returned. The Talons of Peace sent a disturbing report of the dragonets; they failed to get a Skywing egg and stole a Rainwing egg instead. This could throw our plans off for taking over the forest."

There was a silent consent, it seemed, as Mastermind flew off, his smaller size still plenty large to give Link pause. Shortly after, Morrowseer took off as well, the wind from his wings nearly sweeping Link off his feet, even at the distance.

Quickly, Link noted the larger dragon's direction of travel. The mention of dragonets and "Talons of Peace" had caught his ear. This embittered land didn't seem at all viable for raising younglings, he reasoned. It was only natural the place would be somewhere that was better suited for people and creatures desiring an environment that wasn't constantly killing you. And "Talons of Peace" suggested a group of some sentient creature that desired the same. The question of the name would have to be answered later.

Link decided: he was going to follow this Morrowseer and find the Talons of Peace, if only for refuge and an explanation of the land. Surely they wouldn't be draconic, or at least would be amenable, and could provide amenities suited for a human.

Or at a wolf, Link suddenly decided. That dragon was flying too fast for him to follow on foot, and Epona would likely not be able to reach him here.

He pulled out the cloth-covered crystal and unwrapped it as quickly as he could. Its fiery light throbbed as if anticipating Link's touch. With his ungloved hand, he grasped the crystal and its light pulsed once more, filling his body with the Twilight magicks.

Within seconds, Link's entire form darkened to nothing but a silhouette of his human form. His legs and back clenched up as his anatomy changed and reshaped into canid form. He cringed as he felt his face push out into a muzzle and his spine lengthened into a tail. Shivers overcame him as claws forced themselves from his newly-formed paws, and his teeth sharpened.

The worst part was always the fur. The feeling of fur growing from every follicle on his body made him grunt in extreme discomfort.

But as quickly as it started, it was over, leaving Link as the black wolf with white, linear symbols on his side, a white underbelly, and a singular white symbol on his forehead. The crystal in his hand grew into a cuff of ebony stone and warm cyan light, but otherwise went unnoticed.

With a bark, Link sprinted after Morrowseer.

Why was he here? He didn't know. How did he get the Master Sword? Also unknown.

But Link did know one thing: He was going to do all within his power to stop whatever evil was plaguing this land, and banish it to the nether realms. He only prayed, by the Three Goddesses, that it would be enough.

Little did Link know that Fate was, at this very moment, entwining the Hero's path with that of five young dragons.

**EDIT: Uploaded minor changes as of 10/3/15**


	2. The Lay of the Land

Link leapt behind a bush just as Morrowseer landed with a magnificent _thud._ The dragon's size was enough to sink even the mightiest of Hylian ships, especially with the power behind that landing.

Thankfully, Morrowseer didn't appear to notice the wolf. The dragon looked around for a moment before advancing on foot.

This new pace was much better for Link, who even in his wolf form had limits. He had chased Morrowseer for what felt like leagues, most of the distance covered by sprinting. Now he had time to rest, despite the seeming fast pace. In reality, it was more of a quick walk for him, lending him enough energy that his mind started to wander.

In particular, he was wondering how he had understood the dragons.

When the two had been talking but an hour ago, he hadn't noticed anything odd about being able to understand them. But now that he had time to think, it struck him with the strangeness. As he thought on it, though, he remembered a lilting quality to their speech. The inflection wasn't noticeable at the time, Link passing it off subconsciously as their accent.

Now, though, he was starting to wonder if it was their accent, or their language. Either way, Hylian and this draconic language must be similar enough. Link made a mental note to listen for any differences that would clue him into why it was discernible to him.

The brambles and thickets started to thin. Link huffed with the jolt of realization and jumped back into the thickets, but not so far that he lost sight of Morrowseer. On the dragon's part, he didn't seem to notice the twilit wolf following him, but continued on at the same pace as before.

Link gazed through the twigs and sticks of the bush he hid behind. Morrowseer paused and gazed back with a sidelong look. For a heart-stopping second, Link thought he had been spotted. But the dragon turned his gaze back forward and walked on.

He stuck to the shadows, with nay but a whisper of movement and the slight panting from the small exertions. Gradually, the distance from cover to cover increased until Link was waiting for Morrowseer to nearly be out of sight before he dared leap for the next hiding spot.

After a length of time almost as long as the run to the dragon's landing, Morrowseer finally arrived at his destination.

It was a tree, a rather unremarkable one, with a diameter great enough to fit dragons of Morrowseer's size five abreast. The distance from Link's hiding spot to the tree was too great for him to see anything, but Morrowseer was looking intently at the tree, as if inspecting it for some sign of another's passing. Link sniffed at the air himself, curious to see what he could find.

The only scents on the wind were the ones he had smelt as his human self. Burning, ashes, and the taint of death were the most distinct. With his more sensitive canid nose, however, he could smell a musky scent originating from Morrowseer's direction.

Before he could focus on the smell, however, he realized said dragon was gone.

He leapt from his cover immediately and dashed across the small plain between his bushes and the tree. There was no worry that he'd be spotted, thanks to his mostly dark coloration and quick pace. Quickly, he tossed a glance to the skies. Seeing no threats, immediate or potential, Link pulled back and slid to a stop just a few wolf-lengths away from the base of the trunk.

His sharp eyes picked out the strange hole within minutes.

The scent of magic was strong here. It came from the tunnel, not a question in his mind about its enchanted nature. But there came with it another scent. This one smelt of sand and stone, with a taint on it that only heat could leave.

This tunnel was some sort of portal to a desert, he realized. Morrowseer had headed right through it.

Link sprinted forward into the tunnel, continuing the pursuit. The tunnel stretched for only a short distance before his paws fell on sand. He didn't even blink as he entered the warm desert night, the scent of magic fading as he left the tunnel behind.

To the north, he saw towering peaks that seemed to pierce the very sky, their height was so great. To the south, a line of green that could have been a forest. Link stopped when he didn't see Morrowseer, sniffing the air for any scent of the dragon.

A residual taint of the dragon's musk remained in the air and Link followed the trail towards the mountains. With a new path before him, he continued his journey.

Only hours later, Morrowseer disappeared.

Link had been following him clear across the desert, not letting him from his sight, and making excellent progress towards wherever the dragon's destination was. But Morrowseer had wheeled behind a mountain peak and dove, leaving Link without a clear trail.

He continued along the path he had been following, which had turned from sand and into dirt as he neared the mountains, but gradually he was losing hope of ever picking up the trail again.

He stopped and sat on his haunches, closing his eyes and smelling the scents around him. Deeply, he breathed, not looking for one scent anymore but letting the combination of the surrounding smells wash over his nose. A mixture of the desert's hot, sandy smell combined with the nearby, crisp scent of the mountain's pines and evergreens. Link calmed his slightly-panicked mind with thoughts of his surroundings, his past, and Midna.

The simple fact of the matter was that he was still in love with her and his heart used to break at the thought he wouldn't be able to spent time with the Twilight Princess anymore. Now, however, the image of her face was enough to calm him, and even bring a smile to his muzzle when he thought of what she'd likely be saying to him right now.

_"Oh, buck up, wolf boy. So you lost one overgrown lizard. It's not like you could sprout wings of your own and take off after him, now could you?"_

_No, I guess not,_ Link answered, opening his eyes again. It looked like he was going to find the Talons of Peace the hard way.

That moment, his stomach decided to change his mind with an announcement of its need for nourishment loudly.

Link noted the fading light, his canid mind remembering hunting patterns of his ancestors and the routines of his prey. He was particularly hungering for poultry, which brought his focus to the trees on the mountain nearest him.

Licking his chops, the wolf allowed his primal instincts take over and made for the trees.

Later on, as he was feasting, the thought occurred to Link that, despite this world's completely alien fowl, somehow it tasted a lot like Cuccoo.

Panting, Link mounted over one last boulder and came to a rest atop the rock. In front of him stretched the darkness of the cave, and behind him, the steep incline of the mountain he just climbed. While tiring, the climb had helped him clear his mind and try to recall more of the events in Hyrule that had likely sent him here.

He had gone over the memory of the explosive Twili magic at the Arbiter's Grounds again and again, pushing his memory to remember something more. But nothing resurfaced aside from the strange reverberations of the mirror's frame.

Link entered the cave as the heat of the desert faded to be replaced by the chill of the mountain air. He momentarily pondered switching to human form to use Din's Fire to start a source of heat. But as he ventured deeper into the cave, he could feel the chill fade into comfortable warmth. He padded slowly along, feeling the curves and grooves of the floor in search of a good spot to bed for the night.

The darkness encroached on Link's vision momentarily, as even the moonlight struggled to reach this far back. Link found it more difficult to avoid bruising his snout on a stalagmite, with close-calls coming more often and sudden.

Just as he was sure that the blackness was dark as pitch, Link saw torchlight.

It was a very subtle change in the darkness, but enough that his canid eyes could spot it. The distinct dancing of flame allowed him to make out the numbers of pillars formed by the meeting of stalactites and stalagmites.

Link padded through the cavern, nearing the torchlight with growing curiosity of what could've possibly live here. Dragons were the most likely, given the lack of any other sentient races, though Link doubted dragons were the sole species here. Even as he continued on, he smelt a hint of a fox, recent, too.

Then, Link saw a cavern ahead, flooded with firelight. He slunk into the shadows as he neared, his eyes picking out the form of a giant dragon. While the scent put down the theory that it was Morrowseer, the dragon would have looked like him, had the entire back half of the dragon not been encased in stone.

At the moment, it appeared that it was asleep, its torso slowly rising and falling in time with the rush of wind from its nostrils.

From his spot in the shadows, Link scoped out the cavern, noting a surprising scarcity of treasure and jewels. The wealth of items he did see all appeared to him as value-less items, as there were scrolls, cabinets, weapons, and clothing strewn across the ground around the dragon. But a closer smell of the air identified pallor of magic scent hanging about.

Slowly, with his eyes on the half-petrified dragon, he slinked to the right. It was the longer path, but one that had a lot more places of concealment. Link glanced quickly at the dragon, making sure it was still asleep, and leapt into the shadows with nay but a whisper of movement.

He slowly picked his way across and over the piles of treasure, careful to avoid disturbing even a single coin for fear of the dragon's hearing. Link paid hardly any notice to the valuables he scaled and traversed, keeping only his mind on the priority of staying hidden as well as watching the dragon for any movement.

The stillness of the cavern worked also against Link's stealth. Even without touching the various items, he had to ensure his paws didn't fall too firmly, or that his tail brushed against anything. He didn't know how keen the ears were of the dragons of this land, but neither was he willing to test it.

He paused before the effort of picking his way through the shadows starting making itself heard in his heaviness of breath, slowly taking easy, quiet puffs of air before continuing. His breathing evened out, he jumped over a chest of coins...

A gleam out of the corner of his eye distracted him the barest sliver of a moment, but it was that tiny moment that cost Link his stealth.

His right paw nicked a coin, flicking it away from him and sending it dancing across the ground with a series of tinks that seemed to resonate off every wall of the chamber. He froze immediately, not even his fur moving as he stood more still than a statue, eyes locked on the half-petrified dragon immediately. The dragon responded at once, though its movements were slow and had a sense of age to them, turning towards link and bringing its head to stare directly at Link.

By all appearances, this one looked only slightly like Morrowseer. Where Morrowseer seemed ready for battle at all times, this one seemed to be tired of life. Morrowseer had a look of harshness while this one seemed weathered down and worn out.

Then it sighed and spoke.

"Your skill at stealth is to be applauded, little wolf, as your apparent adeptness for the shadows," it said, "but did you truly think you could outfox an animus such as I?"

The dragon barely had begun speaking before Link had hunkered down with hackles raised and teeth bared, a growl rumbling from his chest. Prepared for battle, he faced his foe with a readiness for battle that, infuriatingly, seemed to have no effect on his draconic opponent.

The lines drawn, Link readied to meet his foe, the dragon's bemused expression only fueling the flames...

**So here is the next chapter of this series, but I have to apologize for several things.**

**A) Sorry for how long it took to get this out. For a good long while I was struggling with some severe writer's block.**

**B) Sorry for how short this chapter is, but I promise I will strive for either longer chapters or quicker updates. I've just got a lot on my plate right now.**

**C) Sorry for the cliffhanger, but that felt like the proper place to end it for this chappy. I will semi-spoil it by saying that Link's preparations for a fight are in vain.**

**Here's hoping updates will go a lot smoother for this and all my other stories!**

**EDIT: Uploaded with minor changes to some phrasing.**


	3. The Driven Earth

The dragon, unknown to the wolf, had a name: Stonemover. The dragon also possessed abilities that were arcane in nature, that of the animus. Stonemover knew many things, saw many events, and could feel many powers at work. The powers of an animus may have been limited to objects and, with enough energy or motivation, small creatures, but that didn't account for the enhanced senses that came with such arts. And Stonemover was by no means young, despite the enormous experience he had from his years.

But never, in all his time, had Stonemover ever seen a creature of the likes of this one. By all appearances, it was indeed a wolf, albeit with strange markings on its head and sides. Not even the spark of intelligence seen in its eyes set it that much different from the average animal, as Stonemover himself had interacted with many a creature that had such a spark.

No, the strange thing about this wolf was its very presence. The first noticeable thing when he had noticed the beast enter his cave was its smell, which in and of itself was confusing. He smelled many things, trees and fire, water and ice, sand and _death._ But there was also a very distinct aroma of ancient times, eras past and long forgotten, times where Stonemover's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were naught but mere eggs.

_That may be an exaggeration, truth be told, _Stonemover thought to himself.

He kept his eyes on the wolf as it continued growling at him, lending him a chance to turn more attention to the other disturbing detail of this creature: there was an absolute _maelstrom_ of energies swirling around it. The severity of it was such that Stonemover had to make a conscious effort to resist from his thoughts being pulled into the flux. There was a cuff on the wolf's foreleg, made of blackest crystal with wicked curves and sharp points. A warm, cyan light pulsed on the cuff, throbbing like a heartbeat. Despite the maleficent appearance of the cuff, Stonemover didn't feel the least bit threatened by the article.

He was receiving plenty of threatening messages from the wolf, though. Forty-two messages, forty-two ivory, sharp incisors currently being bared at him from the wolf's jawline.

But between keeping an eye on the wolf and keeping his soul's remnants within him, Stonemover felt only a single emotion to this being. A few moments passed as they stared each other down, the wolf growling defensively and hackles fully erect as it slowly padded to the side, the tunnel opposite Stonemover clearly its goal.

Stonemover didn't want this creature to leave, but struggled to find words in the face of such energies. What had caused these powers to attach to this mere wolf? Were they the cause of the strange markings? Did there exist some connection between them and the black crystal cuff? Could the wolf utilize these magicks in some manner?

Probably the biggest question, though, was the greatest cause of concern: _How_ did this wolf attain all these energies about it? If it was an exceptionally-powerful animus that did it, two concerns were brought on. For one, there was the worrying fact of a dragon with enough power to do such a thing. There hadn't been any such dragon since the Darkstalker, and to think another such monster existed...

Stonemover shook away those thoughts, instead focusing on the other issue: The question of _why_ such an animus would attach such potencies to a lesser creature. It wasn't unheard of for an animus to attach their powers to something outside of themselves, so as to prevent the maddening insanity that eventually besotted every animus that used their power. Even attaching a portion of power to a living creature wasn't completely unprecedented.

But there was a LOT of power linked to this wolf, more strength than any dragon Stonemover had ever met or read about. If it had been another dragon, Stonemover would have definitely been concerned, but not disturbed. A fellow sentient could be reasoned with, talked down, and motivated to use such abilities for good.

The horrifying truth remained, however, that this wolf was the single most powerful being in all of Pyrrhia.

As the canid edged closer and closer to the path of egress, Stonemover's words finally returned to him and he stated all of his thoughts in one, simple question.

"What... _are_ you?"

A strange expression, one of confusion, flashed across the wolf's face, but quickly vanished as the wolf resumed its hostile stance. Brief as the change of expression was, it had been enough for Stonemover to notice the wolf's eyes, just enough surprise had entered the wolf's face for just long enough for Stonemover to see its eyes were blue...

Shockingly blue and frighteningly intense, there was a surprising depth to the beast's eyes that he hadn't expected. But just like that, it was gone, buried by the bestial fury directed at Stonemover. It was brief and fleeting, but to the old animus, it was as blatant as day.

"By all appearances and even with those strange markings, you are no more than a simple beast, a creature that lives off instinct," Stonemover said. "To any normal dragon, that is all you are."

The wolf relaxed the barest hint, visible to him only because the animus was looking for it.

"But I am not a 'normal' dragon," Stonemover said, bringing his head lower and as near the wolf as he dared, causing the canine to raise its hackles and growl with even more threatening ferocity, "I am what is known as an 'animus,' a rarity among dragons, but not so rare that we are obscure to the general populace. We possess power that boggles the minds of those without the gifts and abilities that baffle many as to how it is possible."

The wolf backed up, flashing more of its teeth, fur standing on end more than it had before, making the wolf almost appear as a hedgehog. Stonemover, however, didn't budge from his spot, challenging the wolf's stance and daring it to attack first. The wolf displayed ever more contention and inimical intent towards Stonemover, but still made no motion to bring harm. With his snout this close to the wolf, Stonemover was afforded a closer look at the crystal cuff around its left forepaw. The cyan lines glowed a bit stronger with the wolf's emotion, the maelstrom of energies about it picking up speed as well. Stonemover's eyes focused on the cuff, curious as to who designed it, and then to the wolf's paw to notice a strange triangle design, seemingly branded into it. It wasn't noticeable from a distance due to how the black fur blended the branding so thoroughly...

With a chuffing bark, the wolf jumped back, suddenly no longer growling nor vehemently attempting to intimidate. So sudden was this action that Stonemover was startled back into raising his head back, snorting a bit. Glaring at the wolf, Stonemover was surprised once more to see that the wolf had completely changed its stance, sitting on its haunches a small distance away and gazing intently at Stonemover. Its eyes were narrowed in clear expression of suspicion, but aside from that the wolf was completely calm and neutral in its stance.

Stonemover frowned; if it wasn't already evident before, it was clear to him now that this wolf was, indeed, an intelligent being capable of sentient thought and action. The wolf had been testing Stonemover, there was no doubt in the animus' mind, feeling for if the dragon truly would attack him. Stonemover was sure of this, and that only confirmed one thing to the dragon animus:

This wolf was more than met the eye.

He blinked, the animus realizing that he had drifted off, caught up in that line of thought to the point that he failed to note the wolf's departure. Shaking himself, Stonemover realized the wolf was nearly to the exit, just one turn and the canine would be gone, leaving the half-petrified animus alone once more.

"Wait," Stonemover called, making the wolf freeze in its steps before it turned its head to glance with a hard expression at the dragon. There was something Stonemover needed to tell the wolf of, something important. It was on the tip of his mind, but for the life of him, he didn't know exactly what it was...

"There's more to you than you would have me believe, little wolf," Stonemover said, "and by all counts, you've done that job well."

The wolf made a very scoff-like chuff and began walking away, irritation evident in its face.

"No please, don't go yet," Stonemover said, "you don't fool me with the feral bestiality, the hostile ferocity. That crystal cuff and symbol on your paw-"

The wolf whipped around, every muscle tense and hackles raised once more.

"-are clear evidence of fate having touched you. I've never seen such items, and neither have I seen such a symbol like the one you possess. But... there's something familiar about it that I can't put my talon on," Stonemover continued, ignoring the renewed hostility. "And despite your best efforts to mask it, I have still seen intelligence in your eyes and the way you actually do react to my phrases. You can understand me, that much is clearly evident to me."

The wolf calmed, surprisingly, but still remained wary.

"But even still, none of that compares to the way it seems that fate is _swirling_ around you," Stonemover said, "there are energies attached to you and powers to a strength unlike any I've ever witnessed in this land. I don't even think the Darkstalker had as much power as is attached to you in this present moment. Are you some great animus or even... a magician? Are you some great animus from some distant land?"

Here, the animus was treated to a rather entertaining sight as the wolf looked at the ground and... was that a blush on its snout?

Stonemover sighed, though for once it was in good humor rather than his usual submission to bad fate.

"You have power, that much is clear to me," Stonemover said, turning serious, "and you also have the intelligence at the very least to realize you do. My interaction with you to this point has proven that to me. Why and how you have this power is irrelevant to me, but I cannot allow you to leave here unmonitored to be unleashed on the land of Pyrrhia. This land is already torn up enough by the war, and I wouldn't be able to stand to add to my list of sins by allowing you to leave here without me having done something."

The wolf hunkered down, growling with hostility once more.

"But at the same time, I have no power left to actually stop you from doing so," Stonemover sighed sadly. "If you wish to leave here, I don't see myself able to prevent you from that course of action."

The wolf chuffed and turned once more, making to exit the cave, this time clearly intending on not stopping no matter what Stonemover said. The dragon laid down his head and watched the wolf's egress, submitted to the possibility of this land facing an imminent crisis. As the distance increased between the animus and the beast, so did the guilt in the dragon's heart.

Just as Stonemover was about to close his eyes and continue awaiting Dinner's arrival, however, he saw the wolf stop and turn suddenly. Interested, Stonemover returned to wakefulness and observed the wolf's path of travel. The canine was ascending one of the piles of treasure, its sight locked onto something in particular.

This time, it was Stonemover's turn to growl threateningly and try to reach for the wolf with a paw. But the wolf nimbly danced away from Stonemover's reach, the dragon already a fair distance from the canine. The animus normally was appalled by the very idea of lashing out at any-dragon for any reason, no matter how justified the action would have seemed, but a dragon's base instincts as well as the power that was attached to many objects in here pushed Stonemover's actions to defend the treasure.

But the odds were not in his favor as the wolf easily avoided the half-petrified dragon, continuing to climb the treasure. The dragon's mind turned from fury to fear. If the wolf, the single most powerful being in all of Pyrrhia, managed to get a hold of just ONE animus-touched artifact...

"Stop! Wait! Please think over your actions!" Stonemover cried in desperation, many scenarios flashing through his mind, none of them good. "If there is any mercy, if there is any REASON in your heart at all, hear my plea!"

But the wolf made no sign it did. It continued up the pile, a single-minded focus on its prize.

"You have no idea what your power will do when it interacts with such an object!" Stonemover called, his energy gone as his defeatist submission set in once again. His mind recalled back, then, to all the times he had similarly lost things to fate; his honor, his pride, his family, his _mate..._

Stonemover sighed a long and drawn out breath, able to only watch as the wolf reached the top of the pile, where several powerful animus-touched objects sat. The wolf pushed some of them aside, causing its own power to thrum in harmony with the fainter pulses of the artifacts. Each beat that resonated from the interactions made Stonemover wince as he braced himself for the wolf to take a hold of these powers. But each time it was a fruitless effort as the wolf bypassed first the most powerful objects of the pile and nosed its way to the lesser-powered of the pile. As the canid continued its search, the various articles were left to tumble down the pile; a mirror slid down, a candle holder there, a spear twanging off the wall, various gems and jewels tossed aside like dross, each piece lesser in power than the last. The animus's submissive sorrow began to fade into curiosity once more as increasing numbers of less-powerful objects were discarded to the side. Stonemover found himself lifting his head up to watch with interest as the wolf continued its strange hunt for... ancestors only knew what it sought.

The wolf chuffed, a sudden change from its regular panting as it stopped its digging and stared at what sat in front of its paws. Owing to the wolf's digging, there was a miniature crater formed at the top of the pile, blocking the wolf's find from the dragon's sight.

But as the wolf stepped forward and reached with its left paw, a faint glow began to illuminate its left fore-paw. The crystal cuff on its other foreleg thrummed with the warm, azure light, resonating with the glow upon its other limb.

Stonemover blinked in surprise, lifting his head and trying to see better; it wasn't a glow shining _on_ the wolf's paw, but the glow was coming _from_ its paw!

He gazed a moment longer before realizing something he just noticed about the glowing pattern. Stonemover's mind went back to earlier, thinking on the faint marking of the triple-triangle brand he had seen on the wolf, and he realized it was the same pattern but glowing gold, growing brighter by the second.

The wolf reached with a forepaw for its prize, and the light reached a crescendo. Stonemover glanced to the side of the wolf, watching it from the corner of his eye but avoiding the blinding golden-

"Rauuuugggghhhhhh!" Stonemover roared in pain, recoiling mightily, throwing his head under a wing. His eyes dazzled and throbbed from the blinding pulse of pure, bright light that exploded into being without any warning. Through his own grunts of pain and confusion, Stonemover heard shuttering coughs and half-growls, unearthly sounds accompanying the feral noises of the canine's misery of hurt. Even with his eyes clenched shut and his head under a wing, Stonemover squirmed in discomfort as the light still pierced through his lids with torturous luminosity. The animus curled up tighter and tighter in a vain effort to block out the brightness tormenting his sight, but there was a greater tormentor to his mind at what he had witnessed.

In the moment right before the visual overload, just as the light exploded into being, Stonemover had seen a strange mirage, an odd illusion, perhaps a hallucination brought on by some outside force. But the animus had seen, or thought he seen, for the barest hint of a second, the minutest of moments, a scavenger.

The image, as short as he had seen it, was as clear to him as any memory of his long-time relations. A small scavenger, wearing strange cloth of forest-green, carrying armaments of exquisite design, wearing what appeared to him as some sort of belt for carrying. On the scavenger's left extremity had been a very distinct image of three triangles...

**A/N: Hey everybody, I just want to deeply apologize for allowing this and all my other fanfiction stories to remain stagnant for the better part of a year. And even after all that, that this short chapter is all that I've been able to push out. I don't excuse myself from shirking my stories, but for some reason, whenever I would go to add even just one more word, I would recoil and completely lose confidence in writing ANYTHING at all.**

**But change is on the horizon.**

**I'm not saying you should expect regular updates right away, as my inspiration is still here-and-there, but since you guys have last seen me I actually have received a diagnosis for ADHD and am taking medication in the form of Adderall. It's making a HUGE difference in my focus and allowing me to write more, with more ideas, and a LOT more focus. Such, that I've finally listened to the counsel of my friends and fans and will be opening writing commissions on my most-active art account. (Note me so I can share it. I'm not too sure of how many of you will react to the images there that display my lesser-known... "interests" we'll just say. Of course, none of it is any straight-up "adult works," but it certainly is considered a strange interest to those that don't have it. There are definitely things on that site that would make me recommend for you to be 18+ years before visiting, but you won't see much of the hard-core stuff in my gallery, save for the occasional story that dances in the grey area.)**

**Certain stories will remain stagnant, however, pending a review of their content and if I desire to keep the idea going. And even my active stories, again, won't be updated as regularly as I also have obligations for trades on the other aforementioned mystery site.**

**Here's hoping to the future, ladies and gents, and that this will mark a new chapter in my fanfiction writing career!**


	4. Ōkami Ryū

Deep beneath the earth, hidden from time and memory, a forgotten legend lay dormant. For many millennia it had slept, trapped by the very earth and kept alive by its own power. Unable to do anything but think, it had lain there as time slipped by its wings.

But now the Darkstalker stirred, sensing something above him, on the surface, in the mountain. He shivered as he sensed an unleashing of energy so intense that it filled him with both awe and horror at the magnitude. The creature of legend turned his thoughts at once to the source of the storm, seeing into its mind and almost recoiling at what he saw.

Demons and monsters were what came to his sight, so numerous and so intense was their combined hatred he withdrew. But just like a flash of light in a darkened room, more images came to the Darkstalker's mind.

Many futures flashed before his eyes, involving a wandering dragon that wore side satchels. It was a Nightwing of the most curious scale pattern, all black with ivory lines along its side and an ivory design atop its head. This dragon - - nay, this _dragonet_ for it didn't seem that aged - - had many pivotal futures that both excited and terrified Darkstalker.

But what terrified him the most was a common theme among all the visions. A shadow of fire, a lust of hatred, a greed for death, something tied to this dragon sought its head with extreme prejudice. There was such fury in this shadow's intent that Darkstalker looked at the dragon of his visions with a cautious respect; who was this dragonet to call down the anger of possibly a god?

Pyrrhia would never be the same.

With one final roar, the commotion in Stonemover's cave suddenly stopped as the light ceased its shear whiteness and the wolf's growls silenced. The animus blinked, but failed to clear his vision immediately. He nearly jumped out of his petrified scales when a sudden sound of a crashing body reached his ears, the clatter of disturbed treasures only adding to the turmoil.

Within the fading light, a figure was visible, something distinctly reptilian and winged. It held its head to the ceiling with its maw open in the fading sound of a pained roar. Just as the light disappeared and the animus' sight began to return, the newly-formed dragon began to crumple to the ground with a mighty grunt. As it fell, Stonemover's vision returned at last and he gasped in shock of the sight before him.

The new dragon in front of him was unlike any he had ever seen before. It - -_he- -_ was initially identifiable as a Nightwing, with the scales of the darkest ebony and the spines tracing its vertebrae. His wings were starred like the night sky, just like any other Nightwing, but there the similarities stopped.

The male dragon before Stonemover possessed, to the animus' shock, the very same ivory markings the wolf from before had along its sides and head. Was it possible this dragon _was_ the wolf? Stonemover doubted it could be otherwise, as impossible as it would seem. But... the animus realized that with the enormous power possessed by the wolf, it was entirely feasible that the wolf had become the dragon in front of him.

It was then to Stonemover's further surprise that he noticed a collection of items spread around the wolf-turned-dragon. None of them had been there before, and they were quite the array. There was a small assortment of weapons: a hammer, bow with a quiver of arrows, and a blue-handled sword among them, the blade's accompanying shield possessed a crimson bird set against a blue background. Stonemover flinched when he saw the by-now familiar design of three golden triangles set above the bird.

What did such a symbol mean?

There were other strange items surrounding the maybe-Nightwing, a blue instrument, a feathered boomerang, and a peculiar rod sat arrayed. There was also other items around him, but Stonemover had only eyes for the dragon before him, mind in a maelstrom of questions on who, what, why, and how.

The animus didn't have long to ponder these questions, as the other dragon began to stir...

Link shook his head, dazed and confused. What had he become? He could feel scales, spines, a tail... wings. Did he become some sort of large, winged Lizalfos? No, he felt his stance was four-legged, feral like his wolf shape.

Shakily, he pulled himself to his feet-no, his claws. He could hear the near-silent clack of ivory on stone as he felt his forelimbs meet the rocky ground of the cave. The feeling of walking on claws was both alien and familiar to Link as he started to pad around. Shaky at first, he was soon walking around without any problems. Satisfied with his ability in this task, the wolf-turned-dragon gazed over his form with a keen eye for his changes. His patterns of ebony and ivory scales mirrored that of his fur when he had been canid. But there the similarity ended; wings, a prehensile tail, spikes lining his spine, and after rubbing his face, the sharply triangular shape of his head all set him apart as a winged reptilian.

Sighing, Link turned to a pile of treasure and picked up a mirror, confirming the observations he made with his foreclaws, but some features he hadn't noticed made themselves evident. A trio of line marks under his eyes, one of green, one of red, and one of blue, were evident, and the symbol on his forehead wasn't the squared whorl but another trio of markings that mirrored those under his eyes.

The newly-draconic Hero of Twilight sighed, in a like manner to Stonemover. He huffed a quiet laugh as he lifted a foreclaw and flexed it in front of his snout. He spent a long moment just opening and closing his dexterous extremity, feeling the movement of the individual digits as a whole. It was a somewhat strange sensation to Link, feeling like a cross between his Hylian and Beast forms; forelegged and somewhat restricted in movement, but felt like he could wield his weapons just as effectively as his Hylian shape.

"So this is how it is to be then," Link said to himself, forgetting momentarily about Stonemover's presence. "To walk in the scales of a species I've only met opposing on the battlefield."

It felt comedic, truthfully, and the scale-adorned Hero smiled a little. To say Link was taking his new form well was putting it accurately. His previous experience with changing from Hylian to Wolf definitely prepared him for this, he thought.

As he turned towards the still-blinded Stonemover, though, he noticed several things scattered about on the floor around him. He gasped as he recognized the Hylian shield, the Master Sword, all his gear lying around in a surprisingly-organized fashion. He searched around, accounting for all the items and grouping them together. For a heart-stopping second, he couldn't find the Ocarina.

Link turned around then sighed greatly, seeing the instrument sitting against his pouches. As he padded over to pick it up, however, he realized something he had failed to observe with the other equipment. The Ocarina was lying against his pouch at the edge of a treasure pile. Link was at once aware of the fact and picked up the Ocarina and pouches, looking at them with a new perspective. To ensure he wasn't hallucinating, he laid them on the floor again near the treasure, pushing them towards a distinctive blade he had seen in the pile. He hissed a gasp.

He had seen that sword before his transformation, and it hadn't been that small.

Returning his gaze to the pouch belt, he sat on his haunches and held it up with his foreclaws. Link saw immediately that there were less pouches, only two instead of the usual four, and the straps were changed for the anatomy of something that walked on all fours and...

His eye-ridge rose up. He turned around to his own flank and held the pouches to his thighs. At once it was apparent these were made for his structure and Link obligingly began to lash on the pouches.

"By the Ancestors... WHO ARE YOU!?"

Link's head snapped up at the shout, frozen half-way through lashing the final buckle. Stonemover was staring with a mix of fury and fright, looking like he was ready to rip his petrified haunches from the floor and either rip into Link or flee to the skies.

Link breathed a sigh of relief and let a smile cross his snout.

"No worries, friend," Link said, returning to his work and securing the last buckle, "I mean no harm..."

"Did Morrowseer send you to silence me?" Stonemover said, lowering himself as best he could into what he likely thought a threatening stance. Link just ignored the motion and turned away from his pouches, casting his gaze towards the Megaton Hammer. He hefted it into his claws, feeling its lethal weight in his appendages as he constructed his reply.

"I'm a foreigner to this land," Link said, "I woke up alone on an island of fire, a desolate place where life struggles to survive."

"Yes, the Nightwing home," Stonemover said, "now tell me, who sent you?"

"No one," Link said, "I followed Morrowseer after hearing him speak of plots and dark things. I was not in the form that you see appearing before you."

Stonemover's fear didn't immediately disperse, but his snout relaxed slightly at Link's words. But then confusion crossed his features.

"I am the wolf," Link said, "and I am from a land foreign to this one."

The other dragon, an "animus" called Stonemover, had listened with rapt attention as Link told his story. The draconic Hero told Stonemover of his home Hyrule, of the destiny he had followed, and the adventures he had. To Stonemover's credit, he was a good listener, and Link found speaking with the dragon easier as time went on. He only asked a few questions, but otherwise gave his rapt attention.

Within the cave, there wasn't any way to tell the passage of time, but as Link began the last part of his tale, he found his fatigue vanish as he revisited that fateful day.

"...teleported us to the Mirror Chamber with her Twili magic," Link said, tears stinging his eyes, "and it was there we... Midna had to return to her people and take up the mantle of her responsibility as Twilight Princess. I knew that Mirror of Twilight was a source of black magic used to connect the Light World to the Land of Twili. But even still, I had hoped... it was my hope that there was some way we could keep it intact and not... not destroy it. But Midna, just as she left through the portal, she..."

Link swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He felt tears spilling from his eyes already, but didn't care. Stonemover respectfully kept his silence and only lowered his head in understanding. After a long moment of silence, the animus finally spoke up.

"She shattered the mirror, didn't she?" Stonemover said.

He nodded sadly, releasing a deep sigh at the memory. Link could still see the Twilight Princess's face in the moment before the Twili magic whisked her to her realm, the sad acceptance that they weren't meant to be together. The Hero had tried to stop her, but she was already gone...

"I knew love once," Stonemover said, "and the pain of having to leave them. To this day... I don't know if she still loves me, or is even alive."

The two dragons, animus and warrior, had that moment of remembrance of what may have been. Link's mind replayed that scene over and over again, feeling a foreign sadness he still wasn't used to. After a while, Link stood again and checked the pouches strapped to his sides. Satisfied that all was in order, he lifted the Hylian Shield and Master Sword, lashing their belts across his form and finding them still fitting perfectly. The weapon situated perfectly between his wings, Link tested his wing movement with all his equipment. There were no intrusions on the form and he found it comfortable.

"So what will you do now?" Stonemover said, "You said you were following Morrowseer, but why?"

Before he could answer, Link stopped. He had taken off after Morrowseer without any goals in mind or any sort of plan. The Nightwing had talked of dragonets and a peace-seeking group, but not in any tone that would normally be used when speaking of such things. It left a sick feeling in Link's stomach remembering the way Morrowseer snarled when mentioning the dragonets, how the Talons of Peace had "messed up" in some way or another.

Link was praised as a Hero in Hyrule, but he never really thought of himself that way. Even gifted with the spirit and power of the Hero of Time, and blessed with the Triforce of Courage, Link still was a simple man seeking the aid those that could not defend for themselves.

Well, a simple drake, rather than man.

"The things Morrowseer spoke of, and the way he talked of them..." Link said, measuring each of his words.

"Yes?" Stonemover pressed.

"Dragonets and plans... I can't just stand by when the lives of innocents are in danger, and Morrowseer held no concern for the things he mentioned. That Nightwing has darkness in his heart, and there is no way he has any charitable concerns for the young ones he talked about," Link said.

"So what is _your_ plan?" Stonemover said, exasperation tinging his voice at Link's ambiguous ramble.

Link shook his head, organizing his thoughts.

"My plan is to do what I know best," said Link, "fight for what's right."

The cave let out on a cliff with no path downward. His senses were still sharpened by his wolf side, allowing him to sniff at the air. Link wasn't sure how long it had been since losing Morrowseer's trail, but it was still there. The Nightwing must've taken a rest nearby.

But that still left him with the problem of how to proceed onwards. With walking not an option, the Hero nervously unfurled his wings. Moving them came as instinctually as his lupine abilities, actually using them to fly effectively was a different animal altogether.

Duty called, however, and Link shook his head with a preparatory moan. His legs tensed, his wings opened, and the draconic Hero leapt into the air...

...only to begin plummeting a moment later.

Scrambling, he flailed about in mad attempts to scoop the air under his wings. The transition from Hylian to wolf had been much easier than that of wolf to dragon! The wind whistled by him as he flailed about in a mad attempt to arrest his downward momentum. The ground was racing closer and closer like a great hammer rising to meet him in the air.

Something clicked in his mind all of a sudden and it was as if time itself had frozen. Link could immediately see what he had to do and felt exactly how he should move his muscles. He smiled at the realization as his wings flapped open like the sails of a great boat. Air filled them and he swung them down, the path of his fall turned immediately into a swooping arch. Link pulled, ascending as he swept by the ground, missing it by a matter of feet.

Jubilation filled Link as he swept his wings- -_his wings- -_downward, then up, and down, up, down, up. Each time, he lifted higher, he ascended upwards, the craggy mountains around him growing more spacious as he neared their thin peaks. He looked towards the earth as he continued skywards, smiling wide as he saw the ground dropping away like a Goron that binged on iron ore.

Returning his gaze upwards, Link closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of the rising sun rest on his face. He felt the light strain of his flapping wings as his tail instinctually moved like a rudder to balance him in flight. His pouches gently bumped his thighs with every flap, and the sword and shield strapped between his wings tapped against his spine with each movement.

He was FLYING!

Link forgot his goal for a moment in the jubilee of his achievement. He leveled out his altitude without a care for his direction. He drifted in the wind, scooping the air in his wings like sails of majestic boats. He started to laugh aloud, overjoyed by his achievement. The dragon-wolf opened his maw to shout in jubilee and a roar tore from his throat, reverberating through the mountain valleys and peaks.

On a whim, he suddenly got an idea that, in hindsight, probably hadn't been such a good thing to try then. But regardless he winged upwards, up and up and up, higher and higher into the sky. He didn't stop for a long while as he pushed towards the blue of the heavens. He lost momentum and every wingbeat required just a little more effort than the last. But just when he had stalled, he opened his wings wide and let his body begin to fall.

He turned over to point his body into an arrow, face towards the ground as the wind started to pick up. Link furled his wings close as he picked up speed, wind tearing at his wings threatening to prematurely open them. But just when his altitude was growing concernedly low, he snapped his wings open and dizzied himself slightly as he swung upwards again, but kept pulling himself into an upside-down loop. He came off the end of it with enough speed to put even Epona to shame, using his momentum to begin the travel towards Morrowseer's scent.

Even in his moment of joy, he still remembered why he was in these mountains. There were innocent lives possibly on the line and he would do all he could to save them. It wasn't only his duty, but his creed that he lived by.

As Link was winging his way after Morrowseer, however, forces unseen to him began to stir back into being. Forces tied both to the Hero's fate and the fate of all the inhabitants of Pyrrhia, for good and for evil. None, not even the most cunning and wise of the Nightwings nor the most-gifted animus would've seen it coming, nor even the one's tied to fate.

The war would change everything, but it was yet to be seen exactly how...

**A/N: Apologies for another short chapter, but it just felt right to cut it off there. I have ideas stirring in my mind, but none really concrete yet. I have a tentative idea for the villain, but it sorta feels like a cop-out, so I'm going to do more thinking and research on possible antagonists to get this story really rolling again. I also have another two fanfictions I wanna try out, but have to apologize for the current hiatus on my other still-in-progress stories. My ideas have all petered out for now on them, but I won't give up on them just yet!**

**So, in the past year, I've been getting HUGE into Monster Hunter, but am resisting the urge to write a fanficiont of it so I don't overwhelm myself. However, I will most likely allow its influence to leak into my other stuff, like the weaponry, possibly one of my favorite monsters making an appearance. (not telling, not even if you play MH and know what monster it is when I get to that part. :D)**

**I still don't know where this story is going to go, I may let loose and try including a third franchise. There are all these ideas I want to write, but no idea which will fit the best!**

**If you got ideas, DO TELL as I am open to them.**


	5. Destined Encounter

Gliding with deceptive leisure, Link lazily searched the skies for his target. With all the time taken in climbing Jade Mountain, becoming a dragon, and catching up on the histories of their respective lands with Stonemover, Link had no hope of catching up on the trail Morrowseer left on his way to his destination.

But if the Nightwing had decided to rest for the night, then perhaps there was still a chance that Link could find him and possibly extract information from him. The only real question for the draconic Hero was, "how?"

He was forced to come up with a response to that a lot sooner than he had thought before because, as Link glided around a particularly large curve in the valley he was flying through, he came in sight of a ledge large enough to accommodate Morrowseer. Link knew that because Morrowseer was lying on the ledge as he rounded the bend.

And the Nightwing was staring right at Link as he came into sight.

He reeled in surprise, momentarily shocked by the abrupt appearance of his objective. Link's stomach did a triple back-flip as his mind rapidly worked to try and come up with something to cover up to the other dragon that he wasn't, in fact, trying to follow him or attempting to find whatever secret cave it was where the dragonets had been hidden away.

In the silent, mad scramble of his mental attempt to come up with some story, some cover to keep Morrowseer from knowing Link's goal, a single memory came to him. A remembrance of something Zelda had told him that she used whenever dealing with less-than-friendly nations in her efforts to ally other kingdoms to Hyrule.

_"The whole truth can leave you vulnerable, yes, but lies can be revealed as well. However, one doesn't need to reveal their entire hand to gain another's trust..."_

"Good morning!" Link shouted as he glided smoothly to the ledge, a smile on his muzzle and an annoyingly-cheerful demeanor on his voice. "It's such a wonderful day for a flight today, wouldn't you agree? I simply couldn't resist flying from my resting place and winging for the nearest-"

"What are you doing outside of the Night Kingdom, knave?"

_Well, he certainly isn't one to hash words,_ Link huffed quietly.

"The what Kingdom now?" Link said aloud, privately filing words away in his mind. Did he mean the volcanic island perhaps?

"Don't toy with me, hatchling," Morrowseer said, standing with a cross expression as he stepped forward. Link tried not to think how the other dragon was twice his size as he spoke, "it was decreed all Nightwings of the Night Kingdom would remain there until the Plan came together."

"I am sorry, sire, but I truly do not know what you're talking about," Link said, easing himself into a relaxed position while Morrowseer only grew more angered. "After all, it was only recently I arrived here. I know little, if any, of the politics of this land, save for some war or something taking place. I have heard _of_ the Nightwings before, but that's only because one of those desert dragons-what're they called? 'Dustwi-' no wait, _Sand_wings!-they mentioned that's what I am."

Morrowseer growled and he searched Link's face, who maintained a still, calm expression on his snout the whole time. His time working to save Hyrule from Ganon and the subsequent years as the Royal Guard's Captain had trained Link into able to holding a stoicism that not even the most well-versed politician could see past. It pleased him to see a submissive realization pull at the corner of Morrowseer's eye, as the Nightwing no doubt saw the truth of what he said. Even if Link was only half-truthful about knowing not all that much about the war or Nightwings.

Without waiting for permission, Link launched into a drawn out narrative of his adventures, internally cringing at how childish he sounded. He pressed on, imagining it as yet another trial in a dungeon.

Maintaining his mask of anger, Morrowseer did slow his pacing, though, and came to stand still on the opposite side of the ledge from Link.

"Well, then what are you doing here?" Morrowseer said lowly, with a threatening tone in his voice in warning. _Do not venture here_ was the underlying message Link sensed.

"I'm a wanderer," Link said, motioning with a claw to his pouches and side-bags, "I was... hatched with no knowledge of who my parents were, but was taken in by some Rainwings that found me. While living with them, I knew a slow, quiet life of tending to the flocks. But after I came onto my eighteenth year, I gained a rather strong desire to see the land outside of the forest."

Link released the tension in his muscles he hadn't realized was there as he continued. His story started to flow more as he told a version of his adventures in Hyrule, but with places and people molded to fit better with the inhabitants of Pyrrhia. Of course, he omitted the parts of fighting off Ganondorf's and Zant's forces, as well as being the Chosen of the Goddesses. He only spoke of his travels and finding various items in "the odd hoard here and there."

Throughout, Morrowseer stayed silent, carrying only an expression of impatient tolerance. After about ten minutes, midway through Link telling about an encounter with a drake he based off of the STAR Game host, Morrowseer released a deep sigh.

"As... riveting as your travels sound, I must cut this short. I need to return to my tribe's lands for some urgent business," Morrowseer said, standing and already preparing to fly.

"What sort of business requires your presence? Surely it can wait a while, I haven't even told you about my romp across the desert!" Link said, eking a semi-whining tone into his voice.

"No! No! I can't stand your... ahem, I mean to say is that I have some rather urgent business that does require my attention and I can't _stay_ any longer for fear of... neglecting particular details. Adieu, traveler," Morrowseer said, barely getting his farewell out before his claws left the ground.

Link continued grinning dopily until the other dragon was gone from sight. As soon as he was gone around the last peak in Link's sight, however, the smile dropped and his muzzle turned serious.

He turned his sight the opposite direction of where Morrowseer had departed, remembering the Nightwing's threatening gaze. Link narrowed his sight as he wondered how he was going to track Morrowseer's path. He then closed his eyes as he sunk into thought in search of a plan to accomplish his task.

That was how he discovered that he still retained an increased sense of smell.

Link sniffed in surprise, smelling Morrowseer's musk in the area still. His eyes jolted open and he jerked when he noticed the other Nightwing hadn't returned. Link tilted his head in confusion, but closed his eyes again and took a slow whiff... yes, there was a trace of the other dragon's scent still hanging around. But if the dragon wasn't here, then that had to mean something carrying his scent was. Opening his eyes, Link turned his snout downwards and took quick, short sniffs of the area. He soon found the source of the smell, a shred of parchment that must've stuck to his scales. He closed his eyes once more and turned his nose skyward, quickly detecting a trail of the same scent leading away from the ledge and through the air. Blinking his eyes open, Link mentally traced the trail that was left in his mind, seeing it led him to more spires and crags in the distance.

The draconic hero smiled as the import of his discovery hit him. He could track where Morrowseer had come from and, in turn, find these hatchlings he spoke of as some sort of trump card. There was a chance now, and Link thanked the Goddesses that he had been blessed with his canid powers before, and that they carried over into this form.

He hunkered down and leapt into the air, resisting the urge to whoop as he took wing. _I may yet be able to save them from their fate and from Morrowseer's machinations,_ Link thought. The circumstances for the land were poor, the war seeming like it would have no end, but there were dragonets Link may yet be able to preserve from such horrors.

The story was legend in Hyrule of how the Hero of Time had been but a lad of nine years when he departed on his first quest, but after returning from the future back to his child self, he was broken. The draconic Hero of Light didn't want anyone else to be forced through such ordeals if he had any say in it, so he took for the skies with steely resolve.

He would find these dragonets, even if he had to fly 'til his wings fell off!

The wind whistled through the cavern as Tsunami washed away the last of the poison on Clay's scales, breathing a sigh of relief to herself. Clay was still unconscious and her wing was bothering her, she was sure she had dislocated it while escaping the chain. But she would figure that out later, for now they needed to escape.

Remembering how easily Morrowseer just... dismissed Glory as a mistake set her blood boiling. Of course, it didn't help that the Nightwing elder had attacked her, only quick action from Sunny and Clay prevented any serious injury, thankfully. But the urgency of their situation remained.

Tsunami kept glancing nervously at the stone door keeping them inside the cave, anxiously hoping nobody would return in the middle of the night. No one ever had, but on this night, the one of their escape, the possibility of someone breaking routine was all too real a fear for the Seaw-

She bolted into the stream, dragging Clay along with strength unrealized before as the stone door suddenly rumbled. Tsunami threw the Mudwing into the river and leapt in after, lifting the unconscious Clay's snout up to the surface so he wouldn't drown, but prayed silently whoever was entering wouldn't see his nostrils breaking the surface barely. From her vantage point, she saw the rock finish its traversal, making her heart stop.

_Please don't be Morrowseer,_ she begged silently as she moved her eyes as stealthily as possible. Her eyes broke the surface of the water, and she cast her eyes around in search for the other dragon. When she initially didn't see him, Tsunami almost panicked. Did he already enter their sleeping quarters? Was he personally to see to Glory's death himself!?

Was she already dead?

Just as she was about to fling herself out from the brook in a maddened panic, however, she heard the rumble of the stone door moving again. She snapped herself underwater once more, moving to underneath Clay as she shivered with nervous energy. Tsunami remained submerged for what seemed an eternity, debating if she should surface and return to the den, or remain here, holding Clay's unconscious form up just enough so he could breathe but remain concealed.

Her decision was made for her as a shadowed figure abruptly appeared at the water's edge. Tsunami reeled, instinctively pulling Clay with her. Where the Mudwing's snout broke the surface, the water splashed with the sudden motion.

Time froze as the figure above them turned its head _directly towards Tsunami and Clay._

She charged, throwing Clay from the water and onto the opposite bank, flinging herself from the water directly at the Nightwing with claws bared. She bellowed as loud a battle-cry as she could muster as she lashed out in defense of her...

Tsunami collided against a muscled limb, clawed digits wrapping around her torso and suddenly swinging her. With a pained cry, she impacted roughly against the ground and the weight of the paw pressed down on her. As stars exploded in her vision, Tsunami coughed with not only the hurtful force she was put down with, but the painful realization that she had failed.

She failed to defend her friends.

Silence echoed in her ears, only the sounds of her panting and the slow breaths of the drake holding her down. Twice now, she had attacked Morrowseer, Tsunami wouldn't be surprised if he just ended her life like he had ordered Kestrel, Dune, and Webs to do to Glory. She clenched her eyes shut to keep the tears flowing that came from the knowledge of her failure, bracing herself for the sharp points of claws to rend her life away.

"A sword wields no strength unless the claw that holds it has courage."

Her eyes snapped open and she whipped her head to the voice, seeing her captor for the first time in clarity. Tsunami's breath hitched as she realized this wasn't Morrowseer, but was a younger Nightwing much closer to her in age, not nearly so large as the older dragon had been. While definitely smaller than Morrowseer, this dragon remained only a little larger than Tsunami and his claw holding her down wasn't nearly so encompassing as she thought. This very claw lifted from her chest and the mystery Nightwing stepped back to allow her to stand. The Seawing rolled to her feet and groaned as she stood, casting a glare in the other dragon's direction, her only ire now being the ease with which he disabled her.

"Remember those words, a wise warrior told them to me when I started my own journey."

Seeing the drake standing before her, Tsunami noticed more differences that set this Nightwing very much apart from Morrowseer. Below each of his eyes was a trio of markings, with each line being blue, red, or green. Between his eyes was a delta-shape mirroring the marks on his upper cheeks. An ivory stripe marked the side of him, interrupting the dark ebony of his scales and contrasting the star patterns on his wings. Strapped about his torso and haunches was a wide variety of pouches, satchels, straps, and buckles, with various pieces of equipment strapped along the sides. A sword and shield sat between his wings, most noticeable owing to the seeming lavishness of the weapons, with an apparent lack of wear and tear.

With a jolt, Tsunami realized the chill lightly brushing over her. She turned towards the stone door and gasped when she saw the cave tunnel beyond. Set between the rolling door and the wall was a moderate-sized boulder stopping the door from closing.

"What... who...?" Tsunami involuntarily gasped as she turned back to the Nightwing. Her eyes locked with the shocking azure of his.

"I have no one with me to let us out," he said.

"Us?" Tsunami demanded, though she felt guilty being so suspicious of this drake.

A sudden cough from behind her pulled Tsunami's attention to Clay, who she unceremoniously discarded onto the river bank. She immediately darted into the river and swam across it to the Mudwing's side, her concern molting as her clutch-brother pulled himself up with a grunt.

"Ow... my scales burn," Clay said. "What happened?"

"You ran into some poison in the tunnel, you squid-brained oaf," said Tsunami, though her smile belied her insult.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't kn-"

"Don't worry about it, everything is going to be alright," Tsunami interrupted, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"As am I," said the Nightwing as he padded over. Tsunami resisted the instinctive urge to place herself between Clay and the older drake, as something at the back of her mind told her that this Nightwing wasn't like Morrowseer. Her mind rebelled at allowing any of _that_ tribe near her friend, but her heart told her that this was a drake she could trust.

"Hm? Who's that? Hello, I'm Clay," said the Mudwing as he pulled himself to his feet. "And this is my friend, Tsunami. What's your name?"

Tsunami internally hissed at Clay's relaxed disclosure of their names, but despite herself she felt her body involuntarily releasing her battle stance. Clay didn't seem bothered by the sudden appearance of a Nightwing, but even if the drake tried anything Tsunami knew she and Clay would be more than capable of taking him down.

His pinning of her was just a lucky shot, as she kept telling herself.

"Yes, please do tell us your name," Tsunami said, unable to help the jibe from spilling forth, "What form of pompous exaggeration were you gifted with? Dreamweaver? Shadowtail? Fateprophet?"

"Link."

Tsunami's insult died in her throat at the single syllable uttered by the Nightwing, confusion for not only the seeming lack of any sort of grandiose self-praise in his name, but the seeming inconsistency of Nightwing naming patterns. Of course, they only knew of Starflight and Morrowseer, whereas the former more than deserved such a name and the latter practically paraded it around.

"Link? That's your name?" Tsunami said incredulously.

The Nightwing, Link, nodded curtly.

"That's a nice name. 'Link,' Clay said, his expression thoughtful for a moment. "Where did you come from?"

Link didn't answer, looking suddenly uncomfortable and turning his gaze away. He seemed preoccupied with sudden thoughts, prompting Tsunami to narrow her eyes in suspicion. What was he hiding?

"Aren't there five of you?" Link said suddenly.

"Oh yeah, I'll go get the others," Clay said as he jumped over the creek and trotted to the sleeping cave. Tsunami hissed at him, taking pursuit as it was made apparent the Mudwing didn't have any interest in being attentive to the question that Link so obviously side-stepped. She followed him into their quarters just as they were nearly bowled over by a trio of scales unmistakable as the other dragonets.

"We heard the other dragon and thought Morrowseer had sent someone else to do it so we hid Glory as best we could," Sunny said, her words spilling out in a rush, "but then we heard him talking and didn't know what to do because we weren't sure if he trapped you or worse ki-killed..."

"Sunny, we're alright," Clay said, stepping over and wrapping his wings around her, "everything's going to be okay. I'm sorry we worried you."

Tsunami snorted, turning an eye back to the cave in which the Nightwing called "Link" still patiently sat. He sat with his head hung and gazing at his fore-claws with an expression Tsunami couldn't interpret from where she stood.

She still didn't like it. Link's appearance was far too coincidental to be luck.

"Wh-who's that?" Starflight said, his voice awakening everyone from the trance of cooling adrenaline. "That's not Morrowseer."

"Oh thank you for enlightening us, I thought for a second he had shrunken and took up hoarding," Glory jabbed.

At Glory's voice, Link turned his attention towards the quintet of dragonets. Tsunami turned away to not reveal her vigil of staring him down, an uncharacteristic pang of guilt for mistrusting him throbbing through her.

But there was something about him, asides from his strange markings, that the Seawing felt like the Nightwing was hiding. It was obvious with how suddenly he turned away from answering when initially he had been rather forthcoming.

She jerked her head away as Link turned to look at her, realizing she had been staring. Tsunami was conflicted, trying her best to hide the internal strife as she turned her attention back to her hatch-mates. She had always told herself she would have to be the one to defend her friends. Clay was big, but the lug was too concerned with finding peaceful solutions to even raise a claw at times, only using fighting as a last resort. Starflight didn't know how to fight, and likely lacked the courage if it came down to it. Sunny was too, well, sunny and naïve to really do anything for herself. Tsunami could always rely on Glory to fight just as ferociously as her, but the two tended to bump heads too much to really make a coordinated effort. If it came down to it, Tsunami was sure they could take on this Nightwing named Link, but didn't know if they would emerge victorious.

But on the other talon, Tsunami found herself relaxing, even with Link within a stone's throw. He held himself so majestically, but not in the same way Morrowseer self-righteously did. It wasn't a pompous stance that broadcasted superiority. Rather, Link's stature was one that suggested determination and tenacity, bordering on stubbornness. She had only interacted with two paws'-worth of dragons, half of them being her age and those that she trusted, and the other half being adults that she held little to no respect or trust for.

Link, despite not being quite so old, was still old enough to be considered adult to Tsunami, but yet he acted in such a way that she saw a little of herself and her hatch-mates in him.

Tsunami decided she was going to keep an eye on Link. She had not a single reason to trust him, but simultaneously found no cause to _not_.

"Come, we must hurry if we are to escape unnoticed," said Link, interrupting Sunny as she and Starflight had started arguing, "dawn is still hours away, but they'll search everywhere that is close to here. If we're to get away we need to fly soon."

"But Tsunami can't fly," Clay said from beside Tsunami, pointing towards her dislocated wing. "She pulled it while escaping her chains."

"Alright, I'll take care of that in a minute," said Link, "but are you all with me?"

Silence initially greeted him as the dragonets looked to each other, uncertain how to proceed. Tsunami was about ask Link how he planned to help them fulfill the prophecy, unsure if he had heard-

"I'm with you," declared Clay.

There was a brief pause as the other four looked to their largest clutch-mate, before Sunny stepped forward and stated, "I'll go if Clay's going, he'll take good care of us."

"Getting out of this dank, musty pit? Count me in," Glory said.

"I'm not staying behind," said Starflight.

"And I'm most definitely not staying behind while all of you are off adventuring free," Tsunami said after only a moment's hesitation. Whatever reservations she had about this drake that was suddenly thrust upon their lives would have to be put aside for the moment, prioritizing those she had hatched with over her distrust for Link. Time would tell if she was justified in her wariness, but for the time being she would journey with him as he led her and the other dragonets of prophecy.

"This might hurt a little," Link said as he walked over to Tsunami and grasped her wing in his claws.

"Just get it over with," Tsunami growled as she grabbed a stick from the wood pile, placing it in her teeth. "I promise not to claw you up too badly afterwards."

"Uh... thanks for that... I guess," Link said as he immediately pulled.

**A/N: Laziness, procrastination, lack of motivation, preparation to move out, readying for AnthroCon, reading other fanfics, building a new PC, possible promotion at work, family, writing other stories for friends and trades, and generally just being a forgetful doofus are all factors in why this chapter took so goddamn long to get out. No amount of explanation or apologies will justify or excuse me, but I do give my profound apologies for failing to update anything of mine on this site. I swear after all this craziness dies down somewhat, I'll update more regularly than one chapter per year.**

**I am so, so sorry for making all of you wait for so long. ;_;**


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